The beginning of my first arctic trip started off great!
I wasn’t happy about waking up at 3 a.m. for a flight, but once I got to Trelew, my crankiness magically disappeared. How could it not? When the temperature is 30 degrees Fahrenheit and the sun doesn’t rise until 9 a.m., I’m not thinking crankily, I’m going into super survival mode to find a way to stay warm. It’s a cold I’ve never felt, it actually feels like it’s biting your skin.
I quickly jumped into a car and headed towards Puerto Madryn, a beautiful little town right on the bay, all located on the Valdes Peninsula.
After a much-needed nap, we drove to Puerto Piramides in search of whales that are traveling north from Antarctica. We traveled along the coast for two hours, stopping at a few beaches to watch the whales from the shore. I learned that when whales stick their tales high in the air, they are actually vertical under water. They do this to speed up their circulation and stay warm.
We visited a museum that had whale skeletons assembled throughout the hallways; I felt so tiny. There were some baleen on display and more available for visitors to touch. It’s hard, almost like a bone. I expected it to be softer and more flexible.
When we finally got to the port of Puerto Piramdes, we had a delicious lunch of milanesas and then boarded a boat to get really close to the whales. Knowing of the potentially freezing boat ride, I wore my arctic best: tights, thermal socks, ski pants, tank top, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, thermal shirt, ski jacket and sneakers. It was still pretty cold. (And to think that I’m headed even farther south, to Ushuaia, tomorrow!)
Conditions for our boat ride were perfect; it wasn’t too choppy and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
Our first animal encounter was with Cormorants; these are penguin-looking birds that can fly, and when hunting, can dive up to 240 feet below the waters’ surface.
The boat zig-zagged along the winding cliff coast and as we turned a corner, we heard strange barking sounds. There, camouflaged on the rocks, were a few seals and sea lions with their pups. Unfortunately, due to the shallow water, we couldn’t get too close.
An hour of sailing had past and we had yet to see some whales up close. We were told that because today was the first day of the season, the whales were tired from their trek from Antarctica and were probably just resting, as opposed to curiously coming up to the boat, as is their usual behavior. But then, viola! Not just one whale, but two! A mother Southern Right Whale and her baby.
The two swam side-by-side as they came near the boat, swam away and came back.
According to the guide, the whales spend the year swimming the frigid waters of Antarctica and from June to December they come into the bay at Puerto Piramides to mate; a year later the whales come back to give birth and by their third years’ trip, they return with their young to release them into the wild.
I have a video of the whales that took an enternally long time to upload, so it will be up as soon as I get back to Buenos Aires 
[...] Visiting Trelew, Puerto Madryn and Puerto Piramides: [...]